The 2026 NCAA baseball season is finally underway and the Wildcats’ opening series in Houston against Rice University had a little bit of everything. Northwestern (1-2, 0-0 B1G) dropped back-to-back one-run contests on Friday’s doubleheader, but bounced back in a major way with a 17-6 drubbing of the Owls (2-1, 0-0 AAC) on Sunday.
On the heels of a 2025 season that saw Ben Greenspan’s squad showcase major improvements across the board, the Wildcats were hoping to leave Texas with a winning record. Despite the series result, Northwestern outscored Rice 25-16 across the three contests. Greenspan’s squad displayed the ability to win games in a multitude of ways, something they couldn’t say last year due to consistently lackluster pitching performances. Of course, there’s no satisfaction in losing, but the ‘Cats should feel good about their performance this weekend.
That being said, it started rough, to say the least. Northwestern’s first full inning of baseball in 2026 was nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. The offense kicked off the season with three strikeouts and a pick-off following a dropped third strike. Then, the Owls blitzed starting pitcher Sam Hliboki–the team’s most sure-handed arm in 2025–for back-to-back home runs to lead off the bottom half of the inning. Hliboki struggled mightily as he labored through four innings allowing five earned runs without recording a strikeout. He lived dangerously at the top of the zone, resulting in ten of the 12 outs he did get being flyouts. Toeing the rubber on the other side Rice’s Brayden Sharp had his heater working, helping him up eight strikeouts.
Northwestern’s offense bounced back immediately, though, with three runs of their own in the top of the second inning. Right fielder Jackson Freeman, who had himself a stellar series, cashed in the Wildcats’ first run of 2026 with a solo shot. Duke transfer Jay Slater caught both games of the doubleheader and announced himself to Wildcats fans with a bang as he launched a two-run shot to left to give Northwestern the lead in his first at-bat.
The ball just kept flying out of the park as Rice DH Paul Smith tagged Hliboki for a two-run bomb to regain the lead. Rice got productive, lengthy at-bats from almost every guy in the lineup, but Hliboki did well to limit free passes only allowing one walk. By the end of the fifth inning, the Owls led 7-3 thanks to RBI knocks from Cole Green and Kutter-Gage Webb.
But just as it started to look bleak, DH Nick Barron and first baseman Noah Ruiz’s first RBIs for the Wildcats followed by Freeman’s second home run of the day made it a one-run game. Freshman Justin Fryer gave the squad two impressive blank frames in his debut to give Northwestern life heading into the ninth. Unfortunately, there was no comeback in store and the ‘Cats would have to shake off the 7-6 defeat in just a few hours.
After the back-and-forth slugfest in game one of the doubleheader, both squads were prepared for more fireworks, but Northwestern starter Ryan Weaver had other plans. The Illinois State graduate transfer was nothing short of phenomenal in his Wildcats debut, going seven scoreless and surrendering just six baserunners. After allowing a two-out walk in the seventh with his pitch count approaching the century mark, Weaver blew one past Landon West to close out the frame and let out a victorious shout as he strutted his way back to the dugout. If Weaver can carry this momentum into his next start, he could be an X-factor for this rotation and provide Greenspan with the length from his starters he lacked in 2025.
The game was scoreless through five frames thanks to Rice’s first-year coach David Pierce pushing all the right buttons in the bullpen in a game where none of his pitchers went longer than three innings. Owen McElfatrick finally broke the seal in the sixth with a stunning at-bat. After falling behind in the count the third baseman spit on two pitches before he got his. He waited back just enough on an outside heater before putting a textbook, level swing on it to smack an opposite field home run.
Just as the Wildcats were on their way to the first 1-0 victory since 2019, the wheels came off. In the bottom of the eighth with one out and a runner in scoring position, Mason Ashlock hit a hard line drive to second base. Northwestern second baseman Jack Counsell tried to play the in-between hop, but couldn’t get his body in front of it. The ball took a fateful roll into left-center, and the Owls tied the game. It went from bad to worse as Webb singled home two more later in the inning. Northwestern would go on to lose 3-2 after playing a sound all-around game, but the series wasn’t over.
In the finale, the ‘Cats exorcised all doubleheader demons. Northwestern launched five home runs off the bats of Freeman, Slater, center fielder Jack Lausch and two from Ruiz who ended the game with seven RBIs. Barron and McElfatrick also secured multi-hit days of their own. Barron, who is looking like a solidified middle-of-the-order threat after just three games at the collegiate level, is already filling the Trent Liolios sized hole in this lineup with ease. After jumping out to an early 7-0 lead, even a five-run second inning for the Owls wasn’t nearly enough as the ‘Cats would win 17-6 by run rule after seven.
Despite the offensive outburst and seemingly pedestrian pitching stat lines across the board for Northwestern, Garrett Shearer’s return to the mound cannot go unnoticed. Greenspan clearly had the righty on a strict pitch limit in his first start back, a choice that makes even more sense given the doubleheader interrupting his planned pitching schedule. Despite giving up three runs and recording just five outs, Shearer’ stuff was loud. His fastball had some serious zip and armside run, and he was able to land his breaking ball for strikes against right-handed batters consistently enough to stay ahead in counts. The results weren’t pretty, but Shearer should continue to look sharper with each start.
It was an eventful, albeit losing weekend for the ‘Cats, but Greenspan’s squad showed competency and competitiveness in all facets of the game. If they can clean up their mistakes and continue to approach each at-bat with aggression, they should find better results in their next series against Cornell in Spartanburg, S.C., Feb. 20-21.